The Day of Atonement

Memory
Text: “Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity and
passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He
does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging
love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities
under foot. Yes, Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the
sea” (Micah
7:18, 19, NASB).

The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur,
as revealed in Leviticus
16, is the most solemn Old Testament ritual.
It is deliberately placed in the heart of the book of Leviticus, which
is itself at the center of the Five Books of Moses, in order to help to
illustrate the “most holy” character of this ritual. Also referred to
as the Sabbath of Sabbaths (Lev.
16:31),
the day calls for the
cessation of all work, which is unique for an Israelite yearly
festival. This fact places the day squarely within the concept of the
Sabbath—a time to rest in what God, as Creator and Redeemer, has done
(and will do) for us.

This week we will study what happened on the Day of Atonement
in the earthly sanctuary, specifically the rituals with the two goats,
which helps us to better understand deeper truths regarding salvation
and the final disposition of sin.

Study this week’s lesson to
prepare for Sabbath, November 9.

Sunday November 3

The Yearly Cleansing

Throughout the year all kinds of sins and ritual impurities
were transferred to the sanctuary. With the Day of Atonement comes the
time for their removal. There are three main parts to the Day of
Atonement:

1. The purification offering for the priest.
The high priest slaughtered a bull for his sins, making sure that he
(the priest) would be clean when entering the sanctuary and performing
the ritual to cleanse it.

2. The purification offering of the goat “for the
Lord”(Lev.
16:8, NKJV).
During the year, the purification
offerings “brought” all the sins of the Israelites into the sanctuary.
The Day of Atonement was the time to remove these sins from the
sanctuary; this process was done through the blood of the goat “for the
Lord.”

3. The elimination ritual with the live goat for
Azazel. God wanted to get the sins of His people away from
the sanctuary and the camp. Therefore, another live goat was sent out
into the desert.

ReadLeviticus
16:15. What
happened to this goat, and what did
it symbolize?

Because there was neither confession of sin nor laying on of
hands involved with the goat for the Lord, its blood was not a carrier
of sin. Thus, it did not defile but, rather, it cleansed. The effect is
clearly described in verses 16
and 20. The high priest made atonement
with the blood of the Lord’s goat, cleansing the entire sanctuary. The
same procedure also effected the purification of the people so that,
when the sanctuary was cleansed from all the people’s sins, the people
themselves were cleansed too. In this sense the Day of Atonement was
unique, for only on this day were both the sanctuary and the people
cleansed.

The Day of Atonement was the
second stage of a two-phase atonement. In the first phase, during the
year, the Israelites were forgiven. Their sins were not blotted out but
were entrusted to God Himself, who promised to deal with them. The
second phase did not have much to do with forgiveness; the people were
already forgiven. In fact, the verb “forgive” does not occur at all in
Leviticus
16 or in
Leviticus
23:27-32. What this shows us is that the
entire plan of salvation deals with more than just the forgiveness of
our sins, a point that makes even more sense when understood in the
wider context of the great controversy.

Monday November 4

Beyond Forgiveness

ReadLeviticus
16:32-34. What
was the main task of the High
Priest on the Day of Atonement?

The primary function of the high priest was to mediate between
God and mankind. Regarding the sanctuary, he administered the system
and performed various rituals of sacrifices and offerings (Heb.
8:3).
His task on the Day of Atonement was enormous. He performed almost
every ritual, except for leading the goat for Azazel into the
wilderness, though he gave the command to send the goat away.

On the Day of Atonement, the “great” priest, as he was also
called, became a living example of Christ. Just as the attention of
God’s people was focused on the high priest, Jesus is the exclusive
center of our attention. As the activities of the high priest on earth
brought cleansing to the people, so does Jesus’ work in the heavenly
sanctuary does the same for us (Rom.
8:34, 1
John 1:9). Just as the
only hope of the people on the Day of Atonement was in the high priest,
our only hope is in Christ.

“The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant
sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it
would stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement; so in
the type the blood of the sin offering removed the sin from the
penitent, but it rested in the sanctuary until the Day of
Atonement.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs
and Prophets,
p. 357.

According to Leviticus
16:16-20, the high priest had to enter
the most holy place and purge it from the ritual impurities,
transgressions, and sins. He then transferred all the iniquities, all
the transgressions, and all the sins of Israel onto the live goat and
sent them away, through the goat, into the desert. Thus, all the moral
faults of Israel were gone. This achieved the unique goal of the Day of
Atonement: a moral purification that went beyond forgiveness. There was
no new forgiveness necessary on this day. God had already forgiven
their sins.

As we struggle with all our
God-given strength to put away all sin, how can we learn to lean
totally on Christ’s merits as our only hope of salvation?

Tuesday
November 5

Azazel

The ritual with the live goat was not an offering. After the
lot decided which of the two goats was to be for Yahweh and which one
was for Azazel (often translated as “scapegoat”), only the goat for
Yahweh is referred to as a purification offering (vss.
9, 15). By
contrast, the goat for Azazel is called the “live goat.” It was never
slain, probably to avoid any idea that the ritual constituted a
sacrifice. The live goat came into play only after
the high priest had finished the atonement of the entire sanctuary (vs.
20). This point
cannot be
overemphasized: the ensuing ritual
with the live goat had nothing to do with the actual cleansing of the
sanctuary or of the people. They already had been cleansed.

Who or what is Azazel? Early Jewish interpreters identified
Azazel as the original angelic sinner and the primary author of evil,
even as the leader of evil angels. We know him, of course, as a symbol
of Lucifer himself.

The ritual with the live goat was a rite of elimination that
accomplished the final disposal of sin. Sin would be brought upon the
one responsible for it in the first place and then carried away from
the people forever. “Atonement” was made upon it in a punitive sense
(Lev.
16:10), as the goat
carried the ultimate responsibility for sin.

Does Satan then play a role in our salvation, as some falsely
charge we teach? Of course not. Satan never, in any way, bears sin for
us as a substitute. Jesus alone has done that, and it is blasphemy to
think that Satan had any part in our redemption.

The ritual with the live goat finds a parallel in the law of
the malicious witness (Deut.
19:16-21).
The accuser and the accused
stand before the Lord, represented by the priests and judges; an
investigation is held; and, if the accuser is found to be a malicious
witness, he shall receive the punishment he intended for the innocent
(for example, vicious Haman who put up gallows for loyal Mordecai).

Thank God again for His merciful
forgiveness and the fact that He will remember our sin no more (Jer.
31:34). How can we learn not to remember our sins once they
are
forgiven? Why is it so important for us to do this?

Wednesday
November 6

On The Day of Atonement

“Thus in the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple
that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day the
great truths relative to Christ’s death and ministration, and once each
year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of The
Great Controversy between Christ and Satan, the final
purification of the universe from sin and sinners.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs
and Prophets, p. 358.

ReadLeviticus
16:29-31 and 23:27-32.
What did God expect the
Israelites to do on Yom Kippur? How do these principles apply to us
today, living as we are in what has been called the “antitypical Day of
Atonement”?

If someone in ancient Israel did not follow these
instructions, he was to be cut off and destroyed (Lev.
23:29-30). The
Day of Atonement was truly about nothing less than life and death. It
demanded the believer’s complete loyalty to God.

Imagine that someone had confessed his sins during the first
phase of atonement during the year; that is, the daily sacrifices, but
then did not take the Day of Atonement seriously. By his disregard of
what God had planned to demonstrate on this day, such a person proved
himself to be disloyal to God.

What this means is that a person who professes faith in God
can still lose salvation. As Seventh-day Adventists, we do not believe
in once-saved-always-saved, because the Bible does not teach it. We are
secure in Christ just as long as we live in faith, and we surrender to
Him, claiming His power for victory when tempted and His forgiveness
when we fall.

Read Matthew
18:23-35. What
lesson should we take away from this powerful parable?

Thursday
November 7

Isaiah’s Personal Yom Kippur

In Isaiah
6:1-6, Isaiah sees the heavenly King sitting on a
throne in the temple, “high and exalted.” The vision is a judgment
scene that presents God as coming for judgment (Isa.
5:16). Isaiah beholds the true King, identified
in the Gospel of John as Jesus Christ
(John
12:41).

Even though Isaiah was God’s prophet and he called others to
repentance, he understood that in God’s presence he is doomed.
Confronted with God’s holiness and glory, Isaiah perceived his own
sinfulness and also the uncleanness of his people. Holiness and sin are
incompatible. Like Isaiah, we all need to come to the conclusion that
we cannot pass through the divine judgment on our own. Our only hope is
to have a Substitute.

The combination of a temple filled with smoke, an altar,
judgment, and atonement for sin and uncleanness, recalls strongly the
Day of Atonement. Isaiah experienced his own “personal Day of
Atonement,” as it were.

Functioning like a priest, a seraph (literally “burning one”)
took a burning coal from the altar, presupposing some kind of offering,
to purge the prophet’s sin. This is an apt image for the cleansing from
sin that is possible through the sacrifice of Jesus and His priestly
ministry of mediation. Isaiah recognized this as a cleansing ritual,
and he kept still as the coal touched his lips. Thereby his “iniquity
is taken away” and his “sin is forgiven” (Isa.
6:7, NASB). The passive
voice in verse
7 shows that forgiveness
is granted by the One sitting
on the throne. The Judge is also the Savior.

God’s work of cleansing brings us
from “Woe is me” to “Here am I, send me.” Understanding the heavenly
work on the Day of Atonement leads to a readiness for proclamation,
because a true understanding leads to assurance and surety. This is
because we know that, in judgment, we have a Substitute, Jesus Christ,
whose righteousness alone (symbolized by the blood) will enable us to
stand without fear of condemnation (Rom.
8:1). Gratefulness motivates
mission. Acquitted sinners are God’s best ambassadors (2
Cor. 5:18-20)
because they know what God has delivered them from.

Friday
November 8

Further
Study: “Now the event takes place foreshadowed in the
last solemn service of the Day of Atonement. When the ministration in
the holy of holies had been completed, and the sins of Israel had been
removed from the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin offering,
then the scapegoat was presented alive before the Lord; and in the
presence of the congregation the high priest confessed over him ‘all
the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions
in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.’ Leviticus
16:21. In like manner, when the work of atonement in the
heavenly
sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God and heavenly
angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God’s people will be
placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he
has caused them to commit.”—Ellen G. White, The
Great
Controversy, p. 658.

Discussion Questions:

Why would any understanding of the plan of salvation be
incomplete if it that leaves out, or minimizes, the work of Christ as
our High Priest? What does the sanctuary teach us about just how
central the work of intercession in the sanctuary is to the plan of
salvation? The bulk of an entire New Testament book, Hebrews, is
dedicated to the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. In view of
this, just how important is that work?

Someone once wrote that the work of Christ, from His death
to His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, is simply part of “God’s
orderly method” of dealing with the sin problem in a way that will help
to answer all questions regarding His justice, fairness, and love.
Dwell on the implications of that thought, especially in light of The
Great Controversy and what it teaches us about the grand
issues involved in the sordid tragedy of sin.

Many Seventh-day Adventists were taught about the Day of
Atonement in a way that has left them without assurance of salvation.
Such a view comes from a false understanding of the purpose of the Day
of Atonement. Think about the name “atonement.” What does it mean? How
is atonement achieved? Who does the work of atonement? How is it
accomplished? How should these answers help us to understand why the
Day of Atonement is actually good news?

Inside
Story~
SAD Division:
Peru

A Child Shall Lead

From infancy, Joelito’s mother taught him to love and serve
Jesus. When she led small-group meetings, Joelito watched her and
learned from her. When he was 8 years old, he asked to be baptized and
to lead others to Jesus.

When Joelito was 10, the government of Peru passed a law
requiring children to attend school on Sabbath. His teacher allowed him
to skip classes and make up work on Mondays. But when the time came for
national exams, the teacher couldn’t help him. “If you don’t take the
exam,” she said sadly, “you’ll fail.” Joelito prayed that God would
intervene, and in faith he spent the Sabbath worshipping God.

On Monday Joelito learned that the exam hadn’t been given on
Saturday because the classroom key had been lost. Joel thanked God for
making it possible for him to keep the Sabbath and still take the exam.

Joelito told his friends how God had answered his prayers. He
invited them to church and offered to study the Bible with them, just
as he had learned from his mother. When the church held children’s
programs, Joelito invited his friends to attend. If they couldn’t
attend, he offered to visit their homes and study the children’s Bible
course with them. The mother of one of the children asked Joelito to
study the Bible with her. “I wasn’t nervous,” Joelito says. “I had
watched my mother give many Bible studies.”

Joelito’s church is small, and everyone takes part. When
Joelito was 12, he began taking turns preaching and working as the
stewardship leader.

During the summer vacation young people from throughout the
country take part in a program called Mission Caleb. They go to a
specific town to do community service, visit door to door, and give
Bible studies. Joelito wanted to go, but he was told that he was too
young. So he stayed home and helped a group of Mission Caleb volunteers
that had come to his town to do similar work.

Joelito continues to work hand in hand with God visiting
people, giving them Bible studies, and working in the church. “I don’t
go with my mom to give Bible studies anymore,” he says. “I’m too busy
giving my own Bible studies.” Joelito preaches in his church once a
month, and he loves it.

Part of your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering recently helped to
build a small church in Joelito’s town. Thank you for sharing so that
others can hear God’s message of love.

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